Rock On! Davey Suicide comes to Trenton

By
Danny Coleman, The Trentonian

Thursday, August 1, 2013

“When you find the passionate ones, they stick with you,” says Los Angeles based rocker Davey Suicide. “When your band is made of multitalented players, you’re not limited; it’s very exciting.” Suicide brings his “Hide Your Morals Tour” into Championship Bar on Chambers St. in Trenton as part of a packed slate on Friday at 4 p.m.

Touring with The Defiled and The Bunny The Bear to support his self titled CD, Suicide tells me that he and the band will be cramming much into this current three and one half week tour; which began in Arizona on July 19. “This tour, we’re on our own. We are providing the funding, jumping in our car and hitting as many venues as possible over the next few weeks. This tour, will make us survive. Our band is never give up, never give in; we’re self policed. Fans pick up on that, we’re seeing kids everyday where we’re having a positive impact on their lives.”

With the song “Kids In America” receiving increasing air play and a new video for “God Head Killers” also doing well, Davey says that he and the others are just hitting their stride after this, their third disc. “We’re never happy, we always want more. More air play, more views, you know, that’s what we strive for. It’s been, people are starting, people are starting to see the full spectrum. Our fans are singing along, they’re getting it; we are singing with them instead of at them and that’s a good thing.”

Sporting dreadlocks and an ashen look, with band mates named “Needlz” and “Ashes,” Suicide’s music combines punk and metal styles into a hardcore blitzkrieg of sound. He tells me that we can expect exactly that here in Trenton, “I think,” he said as he paused briefly to gather his thoughts, “I think that we are a big energy bomb! We’ve got all of this energy on stage, a cool light show, we have passion. This is a large arena show that we’re packing into a small venue. We love to play, let the music breathe and it takes on a life of its own.”

Sometimes things come along that are pleasant surprises and too good to pass up. Such was the case when Hebe Music of Mt. Holly owner Gary Duckworth dropped an interview in my lap that I couldn’t pass up. Former Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto and I had an at length discussion about music, drums and the upcoming Hebe Music/Main Street Mt. Holly 2013 “Hollystock.” This free music event kicks off on Friday August 9 with live music at most venues throughout the Main St. district. The festival itself begins at 12 p.m. on August 10, runs until 10 p.m. and features over 45 bands on seven stages throughout the day; turning this historic south Jersey town into an outdoor concert hall.

One of those performers will be the aforementioned DeVitto. An extremely engaging conversationalist, Liberty was very candid and quite funny as we discussed his past with Joel, as well as his present. One of the various projects that he’s involved with at the moment is an original band called Slim Kings. “We do all original material,” he said. “As a matter of fact, our song “My Waterloo” is on a three CD collection called “Songs After Sandy.” It’s a three CD set and we are on CD number two, along with a song by Paul McCartney and other artists.”

The Slim Kings will not be DeVitto’s only focus however as he attends this year’s Hollystock; he will also be conducting a drum clinic prior to their scheduled 3:45 p.m. appearance. “Yes, That’s what I heard!,” said Liberty, as he laughed. “I’ll be doing a clinic. I have a different approach, or should I say outlook on things. People like to see famous drummers, they love to see them solo, I have words for that (laughs). For me, the guys who are the money drummers, guys like Ringo Starr and Mick Fleetwood; they’re the guys who know how to play to the song, play within it, they don’t just know how to solo. I believe that a drummer should figure out how to play parts that are integral to the composition and not just go at it, does that make sense? I can teach people how to play the drums but I can’t teach people how to feel. Playing drums, like all instruments and music, is feeling. People don’t dance because the technical aspects are just right, they dance because there’s feeling in the beats and rhythm. I’ll be playing several of Billy’s (Joel) songs at the clinic where I’ve removed the drum tracks and I’ll be playing along, just to show what I’m talking about. I remember (laughing) a guy coming up to me at a clinic saying, “In that one song you did paradiddles and double strokes in this section right?” I remember thinking, “I don’t know (laughs), it was whatever I was feeling at the time” and that’s what I told him.”

DeVitto has been very busy since he parted ways with his former employer Billy Joel. “When I left Billy, I never thought that I’d have an appreciation for the same 28 songs over and over. I am involved with “Rockers In Recovery” and “Camp Jam.” Rockers is a band that was born from just what it sounds like. Joan Jett’s guitarist Ricky Byrd and “Saturday Night Live” band’s Christine Ohlman are in it as well. “Camp Jam” is for kids. It was started to help keep kids out of trouble. They were offered free music lessons if they’d show up instead of hitting the streets. Now there are over 130,000 kids who’ve enrolled in the camps since their inception. It’s a wonderful thing to see them come in all shy and the transformation after five days is incredible.They are loose and ready to rock. So between those two, the Slim Kings and my new publishing company called “Fat Queens,” I have many songs to learn and much to remember. Yea, those 28 songs were a piece of cake (laughs)!”

Devitto is one of the many highlights that will comprise “Hollystock.” Other scheduled acts among the 45 include, The Nick Clemons Band, Paint Box, Stolen Rhoads and Trenton’s own Light & Sweet featuring Ja-Tun Thomas. “Hollystock is a free event, however tickets are required for the Liberty DeVitto drum clinic at a cost of $20 for the one hour 1 p.m. session which takes place at The Fire House Café on Washington St.